I place the computer and the bag on the table, expecting her to come to me; instead, she stops beside Easton and holds her arms up for him. He doesn’t even hesitate to pick her up and place her on his hip. I watch as she rests her head on his shoulder and he rubs her back.
“You hungry, princess?” he asks.
“Did you eat all the cookies?” she asks.
“I would never,” he says as if she offended him. “How about I whip us up some dinner while Mommy finishes her schoolwork. You any good at making spaghetti?”
“The bestest,” she tells him. “But look,” she turns to me, “we builded it at the Build-A-Bear.” She holds out a big brown bear for me to see. “I gots to pick out her clothes too.”
“That’s all in this bag.” Easton shows her the bag sitting on the table.
“That’s great, P. Did you have a good time?” It’s a stupid question by the smile tilting her lips. I can feel some of the earlier tension sliding away watching the two of them. An outsider looking in would never be able to tell that she’s not his daughter. The love they have for one another is palpable.
“I did. But East said no cookie until after dinner.” She pouts.
“You actually said no?” I manage to ask over the lump in my throat.
“Not really. More like suggested them for dessert and she agreed.” He places P back on her feet. “Why don’t you go put your bear in the living room? We don’t want her to get dirty or worse, burnt while we’re cooking.”
“Okay.” She skips off to the living room.
“Larissa,” he says. I look up from where I’ve been staring at my lap. “You’re my girls.” He says it so simply, as if those three words don’t make my heart feel as though it could jump out of my chest. “I want to take care of you. I can do it, so please let me. I loved my time with her today, seeing her face light up. I love knowing that buying you this computer is going to make your life easier. Let me do that.”
A tear falls down my cheek. “T-thank you, Easton.”
“My pleasure, baby.” He kisses my forehead. “Now, I’m going to go make us dinner, with Princess Paisley as my assistant, while you set up your new laptop and finish whatever it is you need to do.”
“Ready,” Paisley says, bouncing into the room and grabbing his hand.
“Let’s do this.” He scoops her up in his arms and skips with her into the kitchen.
I take a minute to catch my breath, to get my emotions under control before opening the box and pulling out the laptop. It’s nicer than any I’ve ever owned. Easton Monroe has changed my life. He supports me. He’s there for me and for my daughter. I’m madly in love with him, and I just about blurted it out. I don’t want to tell him I love him after he drops a chunk of cash on me and my daughter. I want it to be the right moment. Plus, there’s a little bit of me that worries that it’s too soon. That although I know he cares about me, he might not be where I am. I’ll be keeping it to myself a little longer, just to be on the safe side.
I leave today for a five-day stint on the road. While it’s my job as a professional baseball player, it’s the norm and what I do, this time I really don’t want to go. Over the last couple of months since Larissa and Paisley have become permanent fixtures in my life, I’ve thought this before every road trip. This one though is different. It’s killing me to know I’m not going to be here this week.
It’s her birthday.
My princess turns five on Saturday, and I won’t be here.
When you have a job like mine, you accept there are things you’re going to miss. Anniversaries, birthdays, holidays… heck, some of the guys miss their kids being born. I knew this going into it, and with my parents and my sister, it sucked I missed those occasions with my family, but it never really reached me, the feeling that I was actually missing out, deep in my gut. Not like it is today.
I don’t want to go.
I want to be here.
Larissa offered to hold off on Paisley’s party, which is a few of her friends from the T-ball team coming over for games, as well as cake and ice cream. I told her not to do that. It’s not fair to Paisley or Larissa. She already has it planned and the weekend off work.
I hate I can’t be here, and have yet to break it to Paisley. I don’t know how she’s going to take the news, but I’m on my way to their place now to tell her. I’m also going to give her all the gifts that I bought her. I might have gone a little over the top because I knew I wasn’t going to be able to be with her on her special day. Larissa is going to kill me when she sees exactly how over the top I’ve gone.
Pulling into the driveway, I climb out of my truck and grab the big box, and the two gift bags. I’ll have to come back out to get the present that’s in the back of the truck. Actually, I think I’ll just let her unwrap it in the back.
“East!” Paisley throws open the front door and her eyes grow wide. “What are those?”
“Are you supposed to be answering the door on your own?” I ask her.
“No, she’s not,” Larissa says, catching up to her at the door.
“Princess, you know that’s dangerous.”